Walking Disaster
by SpyMaster
Summary: Casefile. The Team investigate the disappearence of a computer technician. JS Pairing. First in a series. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Jack Malone, Samantha Spade, Vivian Johnson, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald are not mine. Other characters are. Without a trace characters belong to CBS, Hank Steinberg and Jerry Bruckheimer. I am just borrowing them for a while and promise to give them back unharmed.

**Spoiler/Rating:** Spoilers up till the end of series 2. After that it's all made up. However, there may be some similarity with events in series 3, although I haven't seen any of the episodes.

**Author's Note:** When I'd finished Harder to Breathe I thought about doing a sequel because where I had finished it left a lot of questions unanswered. However, I just didn't get any inspiration on how to include it in a verse. It was midnight on Sunday and suddenly I got a ton of ideas for possible casefiles. Then the idea came to me, why don't I write as if series 3 isn't happening, do my own version. I had already written an entire series for another show so I thought it was a good idea. However, that idea didn't pan out either. I originally planned eight linked casefiles with possibly an edited Harder to Breathe as the fourth but when I realised the time it took and how difficult it was I took that number down to three and left Harder to Breathe as a standalone story. This is the first story in the trilogy. Enjoy!

_'I don't want to be married to you anymore' _the words echoed cruelly around Jack's head, robbing him of the sleep he knew he'd need in order to face the impending day and the coming weeks. Sighing Jack turned over onto his back, he looked round the bland, empty hotel room he thought he'd left for good. He'd lived in a hotel room, just like this one, for nine months. Back then he though he'd stay there forever, but then he met Barry Mashburn. He showed him that his marriage falling apart wasn't . . shouldn't have been inevitable. Jack didn't care about his marriage, but he did care about his daughters. Making his marriage work would benefit them, so make it work he did. He did everything Maria had asked of him, everything. He'd gone to every counselor, he'd tried to cut his hours at work, he'd even managed to make most of the girls events at school. He'd even agreed to go to Chicago, something he really did not want to do. After all that sacrifice, all that effort, she was ending it. It was like a nightmare, one he couldn't wake-up from. Everything he'd known, everything he'd worked hard for, was gone. He didn't have his job anymore, not the one he wanted anyway. Missing persons was the only unit he wanted to work in, but the very one he wouldn't be able to. Sighing heavily Jack turned over so he could see the clock. He watched every minute of that night tick away, unable to find peace.

_FBI Headquarters_

Nervously Jack walked out of the elevator and into the corridor that ran outside the unit. He didn't know why he was here, lack of anything better to do with himself probably. He'd made an appointment to see Van Doren later that day, but until then he was sitting on his hands. The FBI had been his life for longer than he cared to remember and before that it had been the army. He just didn't know what to do with himself when he wasn't working, had no vacation planned or work around the house to do. Even so it didn't excuse the fact that he was turning up for a job he'd left the day before. Jack looked around hoping to see a friendly face, one that wouldn't inundate him with questions. There was only one person who would fit that description, he was in luck, she was in the unit.

"Sam" Jack greeted trying to smile, but finding the muscles in his face wouldn't co-operate. Sam stiffened upon hearing his voice, _'It can't be. You are dreaming. He left. Get over it,'_ Sam told herself sternly, convincing herself that it wasn't, could not possibly be, him. However, she had to check. Sam turned round, convinced she would see nobody behind her. When she saw that it was Jack, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Jack! What are you . . why are you" Sam stuttered, half-convinced she was dreaming.

"It's over between Marie and I. She doesn't want me to go to Chicago with her" Jack stated, surprised by how easily the words came.

"Oh Jack I'm sorry." Sam reached out a hand and touched Jack briefly on the arm, trying to communicate how bad she felt for him.

"I'm sorry too." Jack met Sam's eyes letting her know it wasn't only his marriage ending that he was sorry about. Sam cleared her throat and broke eye contact, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable. When her cell phone rang a moment later, nobody was more relieved than Sam.

"Spade" Sam answered"Yeah . . yeah . . I'll be right there." Sam turned back to her desk, reaching for the drawer where she kept her gun while she was in the office. She could feel Jack's intense gaze, questioning her, wanting to know what the phone call was about. Even now she couldn't ignore that gaze. "New case" Sam explained as she started to walk out of the unit. Jack followed her just like she hoped he wouldn't.

"Mind if I tag along" Jack asked, Sam hesitated not at all sure if that was a good idea.

"I don't know Jack." Sam looked at him and accidentally met his gaze, she could never say no when he looked like that. Besides where was the harm in it. "Ok. Brentwood, second avenue, number 34. See you there."

_34 Second Avenue Brentwood_

_11 hours missing_

Vivian walked towards Sam's car as she pulled into the driveway so she could brief her in. As Sam got out of the car Vivian's gaze moved to the car that pulled in behind Sam's, Jack's.

"Jack, this is a . . surprise" Vivian stammered as he walked over. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Chicago"

"Change of plans" Jack told her, content to leave it at that, hoping that Vivian wouldn't question it. Vivian's eyes narrowed but she left it, she turned back to Sam making the decision to ignore Jack seeing as he shouldn't be here.

"Alec Parker, 38. He's a computer technician for Demon Disasters. Apparently he left home last night to go and check on something at the office, he hasn't been seen since. Danny and Martin are checking the office out. I want you to have a look around the house, see what there is to see while I interview his wife." Sam nodded to show she understood and when Vivian turned left to go into the living room, Sam turned right and into the study. Jack, feeling very much the outsider, followed her. When Sam headed to the filing cabinet, Jack turned his attention to the desk.

"I think Mr Parker was long overdue on an overhaul of his filing system" Sam commented, pulling a load of files out of the top drawer and laying them on the table by the window.

"Oh, yeah" Jack replied smiling slightly, knowing what Sam's next comment was going to be.

"Yeah. His system is that he doesn't have a system, it'll take forever to wade through all this lot" Sam groaned, opening the next drawer but finding only more bulging, unlabeled files.

"I'll help you" Jack offered, pulling a tin out from the back of the desk where it had been almost hidden. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, but seeing as you're not even meant to be here I'm taking that offer at face value." Before Jack could reply a six year old girl walked in the room sucking her thumb, a teddy bear clasped tight in her other hand. "Hi."Sam crouched down until she was at the girls level. "I'm Samantha what's your name"

"Alice" the girl replied shyly from behind her thumb.

"Hello Alice. I'm with the FBI, we're here to look for your dad. Can you tell me what you and your dad did yesterday" Sam smiled, Jack shook his head in amusement and turned back to the tin. It was locked but it was only a twist lock, it wouldn't be that hard to open.

"Daddy took me to school. After school he came and picked me up. We went to the park. We came home and had tea. After tea daddy played a game with me. He put me to bed like every night. Then he and mommy had a fight. He came up and kissed me again, he didn't know I was awake. Then he left like some nights. Only this time he didn't come back" Alice reported still sucking her thumb.

"Did your mum and dad fight often" Sam asked.

"All the time." Sam and Jack exchanged a glance both wondering what kind of picture Mrs Parker was painting.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Smart plan or not I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, so far I'm finding it quick and easy to write, may it always be that way. I actually don't have any idea yet where Alec Parker is, or even if he's dead or alive.Vaugely worrying seeing as I'm meant to be writing it,although I didn't decide where Emily Mason was until about halfway through the story. When I'm writing it kind of seems to write itself, does that happen to anyone else.Anyway, thanks for the reviews and Enjoy!

_34 Second Avenue Brentwood_

_11 hours missing_

"Mrs Parker, I know this is difficult for you but you can you tell me what you did yesterday? Don't leave anything out, however trivial it may seem." Vivian flipped open her notebook and watched as Mrs Elaine Parker paced the room. Her hair was immaculate and her makeup wasn't even smudged, '_perhaps she wasn't quite the anxious wife she was trying to appear_' Vivian thought, taking a seat in the corner.

"I had a migraine yesterday so Alec took Alice to school and collected her. They arrived home in time for dinner. We ate and then watched some TV. I then put Alice to bed. Alec around eleven decided he needed to check on something at the office, I can't remember what. He left and I went to bed. When he wasn't home this morning, I called the police."

"Did your husband often take Alice to school" Vivian asked.

"Sometimes. He wanted to be a hands on father. Alice means the world to him, she's daddy's little girl, his princess." Vivian frowned, sure she could detect bitterness in Mrs Parker's voice.

"Was everything alright in your marriage? No problems" Elaine shook her head.

"No, we're really happy. In fact we were just talking about trying for another baby. Alec's always said he'd like a son, to take to football games and to coach baseball too." Vivian nodded and closed her notebook, wondering why Mrs Parker would lie to her.

_Demon Disasters_

_11 hours missing_

Martin looked round the offices, clearly impressed by what he saw. The building they were in was an old warehouse that had been converted into a stylish, sleek computer shop. There was the area where they were now which was where software bugs were fixed, there was the reception out front and there was an area downstairs where hardware problems were fixed. No expense had been spared on the decor which made Martin think that Demon Disasters wasn't such a disaster after all.

"Agent Taylor, Agent Fitzgerald." A middle-aged man walked towards them hand outstretched. "I'm Tom Douglas, the boss of this place. Would you like to come through into my office" As soon as they were inside Tom Douglas's office Martin started with the questions.

"How well did you know Alec Parker"

"We were good friends. We started the company together" Tom replied, sinking down into his expensive, comfortable looking office swivel chair.

"Really. Then how did you become the boss and Alec Parker stay a computer technician" Danny innocuously inquired, walking round the spacious office looking at all the pictures displayed.

"Ah. Well Alec never was one for sitting in an office pushing paper. He opted to stay a technician on the grounds that we made all the important decisions together. For example, I wasn't to sell the company without asking him." Tom laughed, to both Martin and Danny it sounded rather forced. "It also applied the other way, Alec wasn't to sell the company without asking me. He did however accept an offer." that piqued Martin's interest.

"Yeah. When and who by"

"Just recently, yesterday was the first I'd heard about it. He really wanted to sell."

_Flashback Demon Disasters_

Tom Douglas walked into the software area on his way to his office, smiling and nodding good morning. Alec Parker was standing outside his office, clearly waiting for him.

"Alec, come in what can I do for you" Tom asked genially, sitting down in his chair, motioning for Alec to sit down opposite. Alec declined, clearly excited about something.

"I've had an offer for the company" Alec smiled, Tom frowned.

"How much"

"A million dollars! Think what you could do with half a million" Alec enthused.

"Alec, calm down ok. Look the business is growing all the time, we wait another couple of years and Demon Disasters will be worth twice as much" Tom counseled, looking vaguely uneasy. "Who made the offer anyway"

"Cursed Computers. I asked around it's a good offer Tom. I really want to sell." Tom ran a hand through his hair and sat back clearly stumped for a counter-argument.

"Why this sudden urge to sell? Is there something you're not telling me? Have you got problems at home . ."

"No." Alec said quickly and firmly"I just want to get out ok."

_End Flashback Demon Disasters_

"That was the last I saw of him. We agreed to talk more about this today" Tom finished soberly.

"Have you any idea why Mr Parker would need to come back into the office at eleven last night" Martin questioned, Tom shook his head.

"Haven't a clue."

_FBI Headquarters_

_13 hours missing._

Vivian, Sam and Jack were all sitting at the conference table when Danny and Martin arrived back. Upon seeing Jack they exchanged a puzzled glance but after a glare from Vivian, they didn't ask any questions.

"Ok, now that we're all here we'll begin. I interviewed Mrs Parker and she wasn't exactly the worried wife. Samantha talked to Alice, their daughter. Her version of yesterdays events were different from her mum's. According to Mrs Parker, they were really happy, according to the girl they fought all the time and her dad often left the house at night" Vivian reported.

"The kid wouldn't lie" Martin commented.

"No, but then when asked, I think every husband or wife would make things sound better than they actually were" Sam pointed out glancing at Jack who avoided her gaze by studying the table intently. He had never made things sound better than they actually were because making required intent. He'd been kidding himself along with everybody else.

"We talked to Tom Douglas, co-owner of Demon Disasters. Apparently Alec was hot to sell and had accepted an offer for a cool million dollars. Tom Douglas, his partner, didn't want to sell" Martin stated, twirling his pen in his fingers.

"Yeah, but I don't think it was because he wouldn't like the money. I looked at the pictures in his office, he has pretty expensive tastes. Now I don't know how much he pays himself, even with the company doing well I don't know how he can afford it. I'm thinking maybe embezzlement. When Alec wanted to sell, he got a little antsy thinking he wouldn't have time to cover his tracks" Danny suggested. Vivian nodded and was just about to issue orders when Jack interrupted.

"I found this in Alec's desk." Jack held up the tin, he placed it on the table and opened it, revealing credit card statements. "This was locked and hidden. The card is in his name only from a separate account. The only charges are from restaurants, bars and hotels."

"That's the reason why he often leaves the house. He says it's for work or he just storms out after a row and he goes to his mistress" Sam offered looking at Jack again, this time he avoided her look by paying attention to Vivian.

"Right. Danny you check into Tom Douglas's financial records and Demon Disasters. Martin I want you to head back over to Demon Disasters, interview some of Alec's work colleagues. Samantha look into those credit cards statements. Go to the restaurants, hotels, find out who he was going there with." Everyone nodded and headed off on their assignments, Jack, once again at a loose end, decided to help Samantha follow up on the lead he found. Vivian headed out of the unit to Van Doren's office.


	3. Chapter 3

_FBI Headquarters_

_14 hours missing_

Vivian had to wait over half an hour before Van Doren could see her, so by the time she got into her office she was even more irate.

"Agent Johnson, thank you for waiting. Please sit down. Now what can I do for you" Van Doren greeted as unflappable as ever, Vivian sat down opposite Van Doren, her annoyance disappearing.

"It's Jack" Vivian began. Van Doren nodded anticipating what she was going to say.

"Ah. I understand he's been . . assisting on the new case that just came in. If he's not being . . helpful, you can send him home. You would have my full backing."

"I don't want to do that, Jack's an old friend. It's just . . am I still in charge or not? Is he rejoining the unit and if so in what capacity? It's very awkward not knowing" Vivian explained, Van Doren nodded, she'd been afraid of this ever since she'd got her messages that morning. In all honesty nobody knew what to do with Jack's sudden decision to remain in New York, she was meeting with her boss later to discuss the matter, although he probably would have less idea than her for what to do.

"It hasn't been decided yet. However, until the decision is made Jack is on leave. He can help out if he likes, though as I said you can send him home. If you and he both decide that he can continue helping out, treat him as you treat Taylor or Spade. For the moment, you are the boss." Vivian nodded, reading between the lines and wishing somebody would make the decision. All she knew was that whatever happened, it was bound to be uncomfortable and awkward for all concerned.

_Demon Disasters_

_14 hours missing_

Martin walked into the hardware area of the Demon Disaster offices. There were at least twenty men in the room, they all had a computer that looked like it would never work again in front of them. Some had individual components out and were doing something with what looked like a needle and a microscope. Martin headed over to the technician that looked like he could be the boss, or at least somebody who knew his way round the place. He was talking to another technician, clearly showing him what to do.

"Excuse me" Martin interrupted, holding his badge up for inspection. "FBI. May I ask you a few questions about Alec Parker" The man turned round and nodded leading the way to a small, gloomy looking office at the edge of the room.

"Mr Douglas said you'd want a word. I'm Pete Brown, chief technician." Pete walked into the room and took the only available chair while Martin fished his notebook out of his jacket pocket.

"Tell me about Alec Parker" Martin began, Pete sighed,

"What do you want to know"

"Work habits. What he said about home. Tell me about him" Martin elaborated.

"He never talked about his wife but he was talking about his kid, Alice. Every little thing that she did he talked about, he was really proud to be a dad. As for work habits, he's always a little late because he drops Alice at school before coming in, the same in the evening, he clocks off a couple of hours early. Must be nice to be the boss huh" Pete laughed"He was always taking long lunches, sometimes he never came back." Martin looked up at that, remembering back to what Jack said about a secret credit card and a possible mistress.

"Do you know where he went for lunch"

"Not for the long lunches, all I know is it wasn't local for them. Other times he ate with me and the lads, we got to the local pub" Pete told him, smiling. Martin nodded and thanked him for his time before leaving. Once outside he pulled out his cell phone and dialled Sam, it would be interesting to know whether the credit card charges were for long lunches.

_The Bistro_

_15 hours missing_

Jack and Sam pulled up into one of five parking spaces outside the exclusive looking restaurant, taking the only remaining free space. This place wasn't far from FBI headquarters and if memory served correctly they'd been here once when they were together. The short drive over had been in silence, neither of them knew what to say to the other.

"This was the place he used the credit card the most, if someone's going to remember him it'll be here" Jack commented, more to break the silence than because it was something useful to say. Sam didn't bother replying. They walked into the Bistro, pausing only to take their badges out of their pockets. They walked up to reception, Sam took the lead.

"FBI. Do you recognise this man" Sam produced a photo of Alec Parker, she placed it deliberately down on the desk in front of the waiter.

"Yes" the waiter nodded"He came in here quite often, with a lady friend." Jack and Sam exchanged a glance, they'd hit pay-dirt.

"Can you describe this lady-friend" Jack asked, pulling out his notebook.

"Brown hair, natural I'd say, shoulder length and wavy. Brown eyes. Always dressed casual, yet looked smart. In fact they were in here only a couple of days ago, it was the same as always, loves young dream." The waiters words faded into the background as Jack turned to look at the booth in the corner. Through his eyes Alec Parker and his lady friend appeared. They held hands across the table as Alec talked animatedly, sometimes gesturing with his other hand. They were both smiling, laughing and looking really happy. They disappeared when Jack's attention was turned to San's next question.

"Did this lady friend ever pay" The waiter frowned and pulled a leather bound book out from under the desk, he placed it down on the top of the desk and opened it searching for a page. After a moment he found what he was looking for.

"Yes I thought so." The waiter looked up at Sam"She paid when they were here three weeks ago."

"Credit card" Sam checked, the waiter nodded"I'm going to need to see that receipt."


	4. Chapter 4

_96 South Grove Street, Valley Stream, Long Island_

_16 hours missing_

Jack and Sam walked up the dirty, dingy, narrow staircase to apartment four. Jack knocked on the door, the woman the waiter described opened the door on a chain.

"Yes" the woman said cautiously, Sam held her badge up to the gap.

"FBI. Are you Brooke Oakes" Brooke nodded, evidently confused about what this was about. "May we come in" Brooke nodded and closed the door briefly to take the chain off before opening the door and letting the two FBI agents in.

"What's this about" Brooke asked, sitting down uneasily on her couch.

"Alec Parker. He's gone missing" Jack stated, watching for her reaction. For a moment Brooke's face lit up in recognition and Jack thought horror, before the expression turned to puzzled.

"Who's Alec Parker" Brooke inquired innocently, trying to sound completely disinterested in order to act like she actually didn't know.

"You know very well who Alec Parker is. You had lunch with him just two days ago at The Bistro restaurant" Sam said deliberately, Brooke closed her eyes momentarily and accepting defeat she sighed.

"Yes I did. What's happened to him, you said he'd gone missing" Free of the need now to pretend she didn't know him, Brooke now looked and sounded extremely concerned and anxious.

"He went missing sometime last night, the last recorded sighting of him was when he left home at eleven" Jack reported enjoying the easy comradeship that he and Sam fell into when they started questioning suspects, they instinctively took up the roles of good cop or bad cop, seeming to know which the other was playing and choosing which role for maximum effect.

"I take it you saw him after that" Sam continued, fixing a piercing stare on Brooke. Brooke nodded, eyes starting to tear up.

"Yes, he was fine when he left here at three."

"I know this is very personal but you need to tell us the exact nature of your relationship with Alec Parker, and exactly what happened last night" Jack smiled reassuringly sitting down in the chair across from Brooke in order to look less threatening, for the moment he was the good cop.

"Well Alec and I . . we've been seeing each other for about six months. At first it started off as a bit of fun, a no-strings attached relationship, it soon got more serious. Alec was really unhappy with his wife, the only thing that was stopping him leaving was the fact that he wouldn't get custody of Alice. However, that changed last night, his wife had found out about us, they'd had a massive row and she'd kicked him out."

_Flashback Apartment_

There is an insistent knocking at the door, Brooke Oakes walked down the corridor to the door sleepily, wearing her dressing gown.

"Who is it" Brooke called, grumpily.

"It's me" Alec replied, his reply muffled by the door. Frowning Brooke opened the door letting Alec in.

"Alec it's midnight, what's going on" Brooke asked, pulling on Alec's arm, trying to stop him pacing.

"She knows" Alec told her, stopping pacing to look her in the eye. Brooke's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"Oh my god, what are we going to do" Brooke thought out loud, sinking down into the sofa as if all the energy had just been sapped out of her. Alec seeing this stopped his frantic moving to sit down next to her.

"I know what I'd like to do" Alec stared seriously at Brooke who after a moment met his intense gaze, she started to blush before saying in a slightly husky voice.

"I don't think that would help any." Alec laughed.

"I didn't mean that. I meant like you me, together. No more hiding, no more secrets. I love you Brooke and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Suddenly Brooke frowned, the thought had just come to her that he'd probably said exactly the same thing to his wife once. As her mother had once said, once a cheat always a cheat.

"How do I know you mean it" Brooke asked, her eyes turned to stone as she looked at Alec. Alec just looked at her momentarily confused, until he too came to the same thought that she just had.

"Oh shit you don't think . ." Alec tailed off unable to explain that what he felt for her was very different from anything he'd ever felt for Elaine. However, he must have communicated it somehow because Brooke reached out and touched him on the arm, letting him know with her touch that she understood and that it was alright.

_End Flashback Apartment_

"The two of you didn't part on bad terms" Jack checked, Brooke shook her head, smiling slightly as she remembered.

"No, he left to go back home to get his things. We . ."

"At three in the morning! Why so early" Sam interrupted in keeping with the bad cop role, Brooke looked confused for a moment, having been interrupted she was now having to mentally re-orientate herself with the conversation.

"He didn't want to see his wife. You see she takes sleeping tablets, a bomb could go off and she wouldn't know so Alec getting some clothes would be no problem." Jack frowned and mentally filed that fact away for future use. Taking sleeping tablets when you know you're going to be the only adult in the house was irresponsible and unsafe.

"I see. What about Alice, his daughter" Sam pressed, Brooke sighed.

"That was the one sticking point, Alec was worried that he wouldn't get custody and what would happen to Alice if he didn't. He was the one who looked after her, his wife didn't do a thing, she probably wouldn't even have noticed if she wasn't there anymore." Jack and Sam exchanged a glance, both wondering if that was just one of the usual bitter remarks that mistresses and wives have for each other, or whether it had some truth in it.

_FBI Headquarters_

_17 hours missing_

As soon as they arrived back at the FBI offices Jack headed off to his meeting with Van Doren. Sam went up to the unit enter the new information on the whiteboard. She'd already reported in to Vivian, who had immediately headed out to Brentwood to talk to Mrs Parker again. Martin was there at his desk, typing up what he'd found out from Alec Parker's colleagues, which was precisely not a lot.

"Hi" Sam greeted him, Martin smiled back making Sam feel uncomfortable. She knew then that they had to talk about what had happened. "Martin" Sam began moving her chair from her desk to Martin's and sitting down.

"Mmm" Martin replied, concentrating on what he was doing. He hadn't yet realised that this was serious.

"Martin." Sam reached over and pulled his hand away from the mouse, Martin turned to look at her puzzled. "We need to talk." Martin's eye's widened slightly,

"Here." Martin pointed downwards, Sam nodded. "Ok" Martin agreed, looking around to see if anyone was close enough to hear, he tried to do it casually but didn't succeed. Sam bit her lip, unsure now about where to begin.

"About last night I . . it was . . what I'm trying to say is. . ."

"It's ok" Martin interrupted"I understand." Sam looked at him, trying to discern if he meant what he said. Unlike with Jack, where she always knew what he truly felt, she couldn't tell what Martin was feeling. Whether that was because he hid his emotions better, or the fact that she didn't know him like she did Jack, she didn't know.

"Friends" Sam offered, knowing that they'd need some basis to work off, they still needed to work together after all. Martin nodded and smiled.

"Friends."

A/N: Was this an ok way to deal with the Sam/Martin situation? I mean it was an important factor so I couldn't ignore it, is it plausible though?


	5. Chapter 5

_34 Second Avenue Brentwood_

_17 hours missing_

Vivian knocked on the door, taking the opportunity to look around the neighbourhood. In every yard there was at least one bike and in most there was a football. The houses were all well kept, with fences and plants, although some of the plants looking the worst for wear, probably down to the football. It was a really nice neighbourhood, the kind of place you live in order to have the American dream lifestyle. From inside the house came the sound of running footsteps, when they reached the door Vivian expected the door to open, it didn't. Suddenly Vivian felt very uneasy, bending down she pulled the flap of the letter box up so she could look into the house. Almost immediately her view was blocked, as two scared looking eyes met hers.

"Alice, it's Agent Johnson here, from the FBI. Where's your mommy" Alice's eyes started to fill with tears. "Ok, can you open the door sweetie" Alice shook her head,

"I can't it's locked and I can't reach the key" Alice wailed, starting to cry. Vivian swallowed nervously, putting on the most reassuring voice she could.

"That's ok don't worry. What about the back door, is that locked" Alice sniffed and nodded, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "Ok, are the any other doors" Alice shook her head"Right, how about windows, are there any open" Alice shook her head again in response. Vivian nodded thinking fast, she could call the local PD, they would be able to break the door down. In an ideal world she should be able too, however she'd failed that part of the course at Quantico. The problem with getting the local PD is that they would take a while to get here, and this could be a life and death situation. Decision made Vivian looked round the garden, soon spying what she was after. "Ok honey, I'm just going to get something ok. Now, I want you to stay exactly where you are ok. Don't be afraid ok, I'm right here." Without waiting for a response Vivian stood up and walked over to the rock garden at the end, once there she chose a rock and lifting it she headed back to the door. "Ok Alice, now I don't want you to be afraid. I'm just going to come inside alright, stay where you are and don't worry I'm right here." Reassuring Alice all the time, Vivian moved over to the study window, with only slight hesitation Vivian raised the rock up the glass and threw it through the window with a massive crash. Part of the window around the hole the rock had made broke, carefully Vivian punched in the rest of window with her elbow and then broke off the jagged edges at the bottom of the window. Wishing she had gloves Vivian gingerly hoisted herself up and through the window, after a perilous few moments her feet found the floor. Crunching on the broken glass and inspecting herself for any cuts, Vivian made her way out to the hallway where Alice was waiting. "It's ok sweetie" Vivian smiled reassuringly moving so she could see into the living room. Lying on the couch was Elaine Parker, her skin was as white as snow. An empty pill bottle and a half empty bottle of vodka lay on the floor, it was obvious she was dead. However, procedure dictated that Vivian check for a pulse. Muttering reassurances to Alice all the time Vivian walked over to Elaine, as soon as her fingers touched Elaine's skin she knew she was dead, she was cold to the touch. Vivian nodded and noted the time, before walking back out to the hallway and Alice. "Ok Alice, let's go outside now ok" Vivian suggested unlocking the door and taking Alice's hand, guiding her away from the body of her mother.

_FBI Headquarters_

_17 hours missing_

Nervously Jack walked into Van Doren's office, he wasn't quite sure why he'd requested this meeting, it had just seemed like a good idea at the time. That time had been four in the morning though, when anybody's though processes were impaired. However, it was a little late now to cancel.

"Jack." Van Doren stood up to meet him as he entered"How are you" Jack bit his lip, he himself hadn't evaluated how he felt and even if he had, he wouldn't be telling the result to Paula Van Doren.

"Paula, any thoughts on what my job situation is" _'Jack skillfully avoided my question' _Van Doren noted, letting the issue pass.

"No firm decisions have yet been made Jack, there is a lot to consider" Van Doren told him, Jack nodded sighing slightly.

"I know that. However, I need to know whether I can rejoin my unit or not."

"The missing persons unit Jack, not your unit" Van Doren corrected.

"I know, it's Vivian's unit now and I'm fine with that. I'll work under Vivian's leadership if I have too but I want to stay working missing persons" Jack said firmly, Van Doren hesitated, thinking of the best argument to put across to dissuade him.

"Jack there are several reasons why that isn't a good idea. One, you are too experienced to go back to working as a ordinary special agent. Two, there is the question of your relationship with Spade. Now you and your wife have split there is no reason why you won't pursue a relationship, I know how you feel about her Jack. Three, think how Agent Johnson will feel, she's finally got the command she worked so hard for and her old boss is looking over her shoulder. Think about it Jack" Van Doren suggested, studying his face and thinking that he was going to listen to her for a change.

"One, you were perfectly happy for me to go back to being a street agent in Chicago. Two, I wouldn't look over Vivian's shoulder and three. I would no longer be Sam's supervisor, there are no FBI regulations on whether colleagues can have a relationship" Jack argued, Van Doren bit her lip in annoyance, he always came up with an answer didn't he.

"No there are no regulations but you know it's frowned upon. It wrecks the teams dynamic, if you were in a dangerous situation, no in fact you have been. Barry Mashburn, the bookstore. Look me in the eye and tell me you would have done the same for Taylor or Fitzgerald or Johnson. Tell me that you would have traded your life for their life, that the action you took wasn't just because it was Spade." Jack nodded accepting the question, he knew there was no avoiding this one. He looked Van Doren in the eye and told her the truth.

A/N: I found this quite hard to write, of all the characters Vivian's the one that I find hardest to write for. Was the action paragraph with her realistic? As for Jack and Van Doren, I have no idea how this is handled for real, is what I did ok?


	6. Chapter 6

_FBI Headquarters_

_19 hours missing_

Martin, Sam and Jack were all sitting at the conference table when Vivian and Danny walked in. Vivian was wearing a frown and Danny was carrying a couple of heavy looking boxes, Danny set them down beside his chair and then they all waited for Vivian to begin.

"Reports," Vivian ordered distractedly, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

"I interviewed all Alec's colleagues, they didn't know anything," Martin reported, thinking what a waste of time that had been but then dead ends always were.

"I looked at Demon Disasters and Tom Douglas's financial records, the numbers don't add up, it's embezzlement for sure. Douglas is no genius, I got all I need here for a warrant," Danny told them patting the boxes next to him. "I think we should bring him in, he's the one with the most to lose here." Sam nodded, standing up and moving over to the whiteboard.

"According to his mistress he left at three in the morning to get some clothes from home." Sam pointed to that time on the timeline.

"I had a quick look, there didn't appear to be anything missing," Vivian added, thinking once more of the little girl who might be an orphan. "Mrs Parker would have known of course. Perhaps he came home and she hadn't taken her sleeping tablets, they fought again and she killed him. Later killing herself out of remorse."

"Anything's possible. It's an hours drive from Long Island to Brentwood at that time of night, we find out what happened to him during that hour, we'll know what happened to him," Jack stated, the team all nodded seriously in agreement.

"I'll recheck the morgues and hospitals," Martin volunteered standing up to leave. Danny looked at Vivian waiting for her to give him the order he wanted.

"Danny you can bring in Tom Douglas," Vivian sighed, Danny smiled and followed Martin out of the unit.

"I'd like to bring in Brooke Oakes, I don't think she's telling us everything." Sam picked up her jacket, looking at Vivian expectantly.

"Ok fine bring her in." Sam nodded in acknowledgement and headed out of the unit. Jack stayed where he was looking at Vivian, after a long moment Jack asked,

"Are you ok?" Vivian sighed tiredly,

"No I'm not ok Jack, that poor little girl. The coroner said that Mrs Parker had been dead for sometime, she'd popped the pills soon after I left. That little girl had been on her own, in the house, with her mother dead in the living room for hours. If we don't find her father, who by all accounts is the only one who ever really took care of her, then she'll be all alone in the world. She's six Jack, I remember when Reggie was that age." Jack sighed feeling the burden too, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make it better, it was just the job, sometimes it got to you.

"I know, Kate's just turned ten but it seems like yesterday she was just a baby. I know it's hard but we need to interview Alice again, she might be able to tell us something." Vivian nodded knowing Jack was right.

"Ok, she's staying with a neighbour. A Mrs Portman and her family. Tag along will you?" Vivian requested, it was clear she needed the support.

"Of course," Jack agreed.

_FBI Headquarters_

_20 hours missing_

Through the one-way window Vivian watched as Jack and Sam brought Brooke Oakes into the interrogation room. _'She looked nervous'_ Vivian noted, _'although that could be because she was in an interrogation room at FBI Headquarters, that fact made even innocent people nervous.'_

"Where did Alec go after he left your apartment yesterday?" Sam asked, walking behind Brooke, she was playing the bad cop again. Jack was sitting down opposite Brooke nursing a cup of coffee in his hands.

"I already told you. He said he was going home," Brooke replied looking around the tiny room, her eyes fixed on the fake mirror as if she knew it was fake. Hollywood had done well publicising that particular interrogation technique.

"Did he say at any point that he was going elsewhere, as well as going home?" Sam continued, Brooke shook her head.

"No." Vivian leaned into the microphone that allowed her to talk to Jack and Sam via small earpieces, it was new technology, the FBI hadn't had it long but it was already proving it's expense.

"She's lying Jack," Vivian told him. Jack considered that for a moment before asking the next question.

"What car was Alec driving?" Sam frowned wondering why Jack was asking that, they'd put out an APB for Alec's car, so far no bites.

"I don't know, his car I presume. He's got a Nissan." Brooke answered, Jack frowned this time, though Sam could tell it was just for effect.

"That's odd, you see the police checked a ten block radius around Alec's house, no car. No car matching that description was involved in an accident that night, in New York, New Jersey, Maryland or Vermont. That car has to be somewhere and it must be somewhere we haven't looked. Now listen I don't care if Alec was doing something illegal ok, I just want to find him because that's my job. Now where was he going?" Brooke sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"He was going to the office. His wife hadn't found out about us, he told her. We'd been planning this for ages, Alec had got a buyer lined up for Demon Disasters. There was only one problem, for some reason Tom Douglas didn't want to sell. Alec went to the office that night to finish selling the company anyway." Brooke confessed.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Sam snapped, glaring at Brooke.

"Because selling an entire company that isn't yours to sell, is illegal in the eyes of the law. Though Alec didn't see it as wrong, he'd been looking at the books. His partner Tom Douglas had been embezzling for years, he'd had his share of the company already. Besides we weren't exactly going to stay to duke it out in the custody courts either." Jack stood up and looked towards Vivian before turning back to Sam.

"Interview suspended. Please wait here Miss Oakes." Jack and Sam then left the interview room, asking Brooke to wait there had been a formality, the door was locked. "Viv, has Danny gone over to Demon Disasters?"

"Yeah to pick up Tom Douglas," Vivian replied.

"Good, ask him to look for Alec's car while he's there, say a ten block radius again. I'll bet you anything it'll be there." Just then Vivian's cell phone went off.

"Hello," Vivian answered.

"Hey," Danny greeted, walking back into the parking lot of Demon Disasters. "Tom Douglas has done a runner, he left soon after our meeting this morning, hasn't been seen since. I got the local PD checking out his home but he won't be there. Can I put out an APB?"

"Yeah sure," Vivian replied, "Listen, can you look for Alec's car, Jack thinks it'll be within a ten block radius."

"Yeah, I'll get the locals on it," Danny suggested scanning the parking lot himself, right in the back corner there was a black Nissan. "Hang on a minute Viv." Danny jogged from where he was too the car, he checked the number plate before peering inside, what he saw wiped the smile off his face. "I've found it, there's blood all over the backseat."

"Thanks Danny, I'll send a CSI team." Vivian ended the call, "Tom Douglas is nowhere to be found but Danny found Alec's car. There's blood all over the backseat."

A/N: I apoligise for the lack of updates, I've been stricken by the afflication called writers block. I still haven't shaken it off but thankfully I'm nearly done. I have another post ready after this, possibly two. The it's just the final couple of chapters that I need to do. Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to some much needed encouragment and comments from Cynically Optimistic, I was inspired to continue and not put it off any longer. I now only have two sections to complete (I appear to have written the end before the next bit but never mind). I also wasn't sure about this next bit, the Alice and her mum thing. Did I do ok with it? Never having been in any situation even remotely similar and never seeing anything like it on the TV I wasn't sure how to handle it. Was Jack sympathetic enough? Would that actually happen? Thoughts anybody? Cynically Optimistic? Anyways Enjoy!

_FBI Headquarters_

_21 hours missing_

Jack and Sam were sitting at the conference table waiting for Vivian to bring Alice up. Jack kept checking his watch, he'd have to leave for the airport in a couple of hours. That morning rather than cancel his flight, he'd rescheduled it, that allowed him to be able to sort things out with work today but then be there this evening to help Marie explain things to Kate and Hanna.

"What I don't get is if Tom Douglas is our man, why did Elaine Parker kill herself? There is no doubt that it was suicide right?" Sam checked suddenly, she'd been thinking about it for a while, it just didn't add up. Jack shook his head,

"No doubt at all. I don't know why she committed suicide, that'll be something we'll have to ask Alec, if or when we find him." Sam nodded in agreement, just then Vivian brought Alice in.

"Or maybe Alice knows," Sam thought aloud, Jack winced in distaste at asking that kind of question of a six year old, knowing he'd have to ask it now it had been raised. "Alice, we need to ask you a few more questions ok?" Sam began, Alice nodded looking in awe around the room she was in. "Ok Alice, have you seen your daddy since the night he went out, the one that you told us about earlier?" Alice shook her head.

"Will my mommy be coming soon?" Alice asked innocently looking at Jack, Jack's breath caught in his throat making him feel a little sick. She was only six, she didn't know, she didn't understand that her mother was dead.

"Alice," Jack's voice cracked, suddenly the width of the conference table seemed like a mile. Jack stood up and moved to sit next to Alice, he took her hand between his own and looked her in the eye. "Alice," Jack tried again, he didn't know what to say, how to tell her. Perhaps this was just some perverse way of preparing him for tonight, when he had to tell his daughters that he'd failed, that him and their mom were getting a divorce. "Alice have you ever seen Bambi?" Jack asked, thinking that if he related this situation to something that she already understood, she would comprehend what he was trying to tell her quicker and less painfully. Alice nodded in response. "Well you know in Bambi, you know what happens to Bambi's mother is . ."Jack tailed off unsure of how to continue. Alice however interpreted what he'd said as a question and nodded, relieving Jack greatly. "Ok, well the same thing that happened to Bambi's mom, happened to your mom, more or less," Jack explained, for one glorious moment he thought she understood.

"But when is my mom getting here?" Alice wailed. Jack closed his eyes, she didn't get it. She was only six, how on earth was he meant to explain except through plain-speaking, would she even understand plain-speaking though, he had to try.

"Alice, do you know what death is?" Sam and Vivian exchanged a glance of horror, they hadn't interfered so far because Jack had taken control of the situation, and had seemed to be doing very well. Vivian opened her mouth to object but Alice replied first.

"When yougo to sleep and don't ever wake up again. My daddy told me that." Jack could have sighed with relief, Vivian and Sam smiled at each other, Jack had done it again.

"Ok Alice. Your mom isn't coming at all because she's sleeping, she's sleeping the sleep of the dead. She's not going to ever wake up Alice, I'm sorry," Jack finished, hoping that he hadn't been too honest, the last thing he wanted to do was to upset her.

"Oh," Alice said, her face betraying no emotion. _'She probably didn't understand the ramifications of what had just been said' _Jack judged _'She would soon enough though, poor kid.' _"When's my daddy coming then?" Jack looked at Sam and Vivian, once again at a loss of how to explain. Vivian nodded at him, indicating that she'd take it from here.

"Alice, I know that your daddy would do anything to be here with you right now, but he can't be. You see a bad man has taken your daddy and he's stopping him from coming to you. We're going to find that bad man and your daddy, but until then you have to be very brave and Mrs Portman," Vivian gestured over to where Mrs Portman was sitting at Martin's desk, Martin had just asked her the standard questions expecting and getting nothing useful. Mrs Portman waved nervously back. "Mrs Portman will look after you ok?" Alice nodded and started sucking her thumb again, Vivian motioned for Mrs Portman to come and get her. They'd discovered nothing useful, but then had they really been expecting too.

_FBI Headquarters_

_22 hours missing_

Danny walked into the unit over to the conference table where Vivian, Sam and Martin were sitting. Jack had reluctantly left after they'd finished interviewing Alice, he'd left it as long as he dared, only leaving himself half an hour to get to the airport and check in. He'd only just made it on the flight, his FBI badge being his saving grace.

"Ok I've got the preliminary tech report on the blood here," Danny began sitting down, passing out copies of the report. "The blood is definitely Alec's. The most recent patch of blood is about eight hours old, he was in that car when we were there this morning."

"With that time frame he can't be more than an hour away from there," Martin observed, "Where does Douglas live?"

"Already on it," Danny smiled, "The locals have been over, place is empty."

"It's got to be somewhere deserted. Alec's face has been all over the news, somebody sees him covered in blood getting forced into a building, they'll call it in. Same goes for dumping a body, it's daytime, too easy to get caught," Sam put forward, Martin stood up and walked over to his desk retrieving a map of the area. He then walked back over and pinned it on the whiteboard, drawing a circle around the area that Alec could plausibly be.

"There's hundreds of deserted warehouses, three rivers and a massive park within that area," Martin noted, "Far too many places to check."

"I could get some divers on the bay and the Hudson," Vivian offered, just then a nameless FBI agent came and handed Danny a sheet of paper, Danny silently thanked the man and started scanning the sheet. "If he panicked he could have finished him off and dumped the body."

"The CSI team discovered a load of recent mud on the wheels, probably from last nights rain fall. They're testing it to see if they can narrow down where it came from," Danny reported.

"I'll get the divers on the bay," Vivian decided, her first case as supervisor and already she was finding them dead, "Keep looking for Tom Douglas though, I want that guy."


	8. Chapter 8

_FBI Headquarters_

_23 hours missing_

Martin was at his desk watching the news report on Alec Parker, the news hounds had seized upon his wife's suicide making it the top the news story of the day. Danny and Vivian were at the conference table helping to coordinate the divers' efforts. Sam was on the phone.

"Right . . ok . . thanks." Sam stood up and walked over to Danny and Vivian. "We've got movement on Tom Douglas's credit card. He just bought an airline ticket at JFK International. He's heading to the Cayman Islands." Danny smiled and exchanged a glance with Vivian; some people were just so stupid.

_JFK International Airport, Departures Terminal_

_23.5 hours missing_

Martin walked into the terminal, dressed in casual clothes, a small bag flung casually over his shoulder. He looked around for a moment as if to get his bearings before heading towards the newspaper rack. Danny entered right behind him dressed in overalls pushing a cleaner's cart. He headed in the opposite direction to Martin, over to where the coffee bar was. Sam walked in behind him, a briefcase in one hand, looking every inch the career woman. She walked over to the seating area in the middle of the room, taking care not to look too interested in her surroundings she looked for Douglas. Vivian came out of the door by the departures desk, where the clerks took the tickets. Half of Douglas's flight had boarded already. The supervisor had assured her that he hadn't boarded yet, so it was just a matter of waiting for him to move. Over the next ten minutes the rest of Douglas's flight boarded. Sam, Martin and Danny all searched the place for him with their eyes. He didn't appear to be there. Last call was made, Douglas still hadn't shown up and the plane was about to leave.

"I'll check the restroom," Martin volunteered, speaking into the concealed microphone in his cuff, pretending to scratch his nose. He then walked across the room to the restroom, pausing only to throw his paper in the bin. After a moment he emerged. "He's not there."

"He's not here either," Danny reported, throwing a table's contents into his rubbish sack.

"He's not over here, are you sure he didn't get on the flight before we arrived?" Sam checked. Vivian leant forward and asked the clerk to check again.

"The clerk's sure," Vivian told them dejectedly, Danny thought for a moment.

"She's sure that no-one using his passport has checked in. What if he's not as stupid as we think? What if he bought the ticket but then used a different passport?" Danny speculated. Vivian leant forward again, this time showing the clerk a photo of Tom Douglas.

"You're right, he's on the damn plane," Vivian yelled, running through the door that led to the plane. Danny, Martin and Sam ran over and through the door after her, all pretence forgotten now. Just as they rounded the corner they could see the airplane stewardess pulling the door closed.

"Stop FBI!" Danny yelled, sprinting past Vivian reaching into his pocket for his ID. The stewardess, surprised, stopped pulling the door closed, allowing Danny to get there. Once there he flashed his ID. "Special Agent Taylor, where's this man sitting?" Vivian produced the picture, the stewardess frowned and stepped back into the plane, she looked along the aisle.

"Seat 15C, first class," she replied, Danny nodded his thanks before pushing past her. Vivian followed. Sam and Martin walked past her the other side to get to the other aisle. They wanted to cut off his other escape route. "Wait is he a terrorist or something?" the stewardess asked, none of the FBI agents stopped to reply because they didn't hear her. More than a little worried the stewardess picked up the intercom radio, the captain would need to know about this. Danny pushed his way down the aisle, leaving a wake of irate passengers behind him. Martin not having Danny's confidence in pushing past people, proceeded at a slower rate. Even so pretty soon Martin reached seat 15C, Tom Douglas was standing up putting his bag in the overhead bin.

"Tom Douglas," Martin called "FBI." Tom Douglas froze in horror for a moment before starting to run, he wouldn't have got very far if his bag hadn't fallen out of the overhead bin onto Martin's head. Unfortunately for Martin, the bag was packed full of books and computer equipment, which knocked him out blocking the aisle.

"Stop," Sam yelled, more to alert Danny and Vivian than for any effect on Tom Douglas, struggling to get past Martin. Sam added as an afterthought, "Officer down." Danny hearing the ominous cry instinctively pulled his gun and started pushing past people even more forcefully than before. He could see ahead of him that Tom Douglas was going to get to the front of the plane ahead of him, from there he could reach the cockpit, if he was armed that would be a disaster. Passengers all around Danny screamed. Before Vivian could calm them down with her badge and the shout of FBI, a passenger stepped out of his seat and disarmed Danny with a very slick manoeuvre, which left Danny gasping for breath on the aisle floor.

"FBI," Vivian yelled stepping over Danny and pushing past the wannabe hero, who was left staring confused at Danny struggling to get up. Tom Douglas by now had reached the front of the plane, he looked back and saw Sam and Vivian both pressing towards him. Despairing he tried to think of a plan, anything that would get him out of this mess. Pushing his hands in his pockets he searched for a weapon, or something that would help him. His hand grasped his contact lenses pot, suddenly the idea came to him.

"Stay back I've got a bomb." Pulling his hand out of his pocket he withdrew the pot, keeping his hand tightly clenched around it and his finger poised above the top. Sam and Vivian's response was immediate. They drew the guns and pointed them at Tom Douglas. Sam glanced at Vivian waiting for her to take the lead, she didn't move. Sam started thinking furiously, she didn't have a clue what to do but she knew what Jack would do.

"You've got a bomb huh. You gonna blow this place up? Go on then, press the button," Sam goaded him. Tom Douglas looked nervously and uncertainly between Vivian and Sam.

"I will do it you know," Tom Douglas stammered. Sam walked forward keeping her gun trained on him.

"Go on then, press the button, blow us all up," Sam shouted, unnerving Tom Douglas even more. Suddenly she darted forward knocking the pot out of his hand. It clattered harmlessly to the floor, exposing it for what it really was. "Hands over your head," Sam ordered reaching for her cuffs.


	9. Chapter 9

_FBI Headquarters_

_24 hours missing_

"I told you already I don't know where he is," Tom Douglas claimed. Sam arched her eyebrow in disbelief while Danny paced round Tom Douglas, fixing him with a steely eyed stare.

"If you don't know where he is why were you running and why did you pretend you had a bomb?" Sam asked as Danny moved over to her side of the table, leaning over it so his face was inches away from Tom Douglas's.

"Because if your innocent, where's the logic in that?" Danny questioned, Tom Douglas shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes flickering from one agent to the other.

"I want a lawyer," Tom Douglas gulped. Sam and Danny exchanged a glance.

"Oh you want a lawyer now do you? He wants a lawyer." Danny turned back to Sam "It's nine PM Tom. Have you got a lawyer on retainer?"

"It's not a difficult question Mr Douglas. You answer it now maybe we can cut a deal. You make us wait, you'll be lucky if you ever see the light of day again. Now where is Alec Parker?" Sam slammed her hands flat onto the table and stared unmercifully at Tom Douglas. He closed his eyes in defeat.

"He's in a warehouse I own in the Bronx."

"Thanks," Danny thanked him verbally, his eyes telling him in no uncertain terms that he didn't mean it.

_W Van Buren Street  
24 hours missing_

Nervously Jack knocked on the door of what would have been his new house. All day long he'd been dreading this moment, the moment he'd have to face up to reality and the fact that he was out of his daughter's lives. Sure Maria said that they still needed a father, but how when they lived in two different cities miles apart. He had to try and do something though; he'd been thinking about it all day. He hadn't been thinking clearly at three in the morning when he'd asked for an appointment with Van Doren. He hadn't been thinking clearly when he had asked to remain in New York and work missing persons again. He hadn't been thinking clearly about the situation. Maria's shock announcement the night before and sent him reeling because it was so unexpected. He'd tried so hard; he'd thought it had been working. Why did she want to call it a day now, rather than a year ago when things were so much worse? It just didn't make any sense. Maria opening the door interrupted his thoughts.  
"Jack," she greeted her tone virtually unreadable. That one word though sounded to Jack so angry and bitter, like she was forcing herself to be civil.

"Hey," he replied stepping into the house and looking round. Maria had found the house during a visit out here. They had been going to stay in one of her firm's apartments until they found something. He'd not seen the house, not being that interested where they would live. He'd not even seen a realtor's brochure. The house was very nice, he could tell that even though boxes and mess were everywhere. "House looks good, you always did have great taste," Jack commented, following Maria into the living room.

"One of us had to Jack," Maria retorted meeting Jack's eyes for the first time. _'They were sad eyes'_, Jack thought, _'and they showed a lot of pain, pain that undoubtedly he'd caused.' _He felt so bad about it all. He'd let her down. He'd broken his marriage vows, and he regretted it. That had been over with two years ago though. He'd made his apologies and reparations. He'd thought that she'd forgiven him for that. Was this what this was about? What was this about?

"How are the girls?" Jack asked, postponing the moment and the inevitable confrontation that asking why would bring.

"They're ok, they're a little confused as to why you didn't come with us," Maria told him. "I told them that you had to finish your case. I thought it would be best if we told them the truth together." Jack nodded, part of him could see the sense in that, the other part raged at the fact that it would now make him look like the bad guy. He'd been expecting this though. He'd known that was what she would do.

"What are we going to tell them? That we're getting a divorce?" Jack queried. Maria remained silent. Jack took that as an invitation to continue. "Are we getting a divorce? I don't understand why this is happening now. I thought things were working between us. I'll do anything Maria, anything. I just want to keep this family together." Jack hadn't planned on saying that, on begging her to take him back. If she said yes then he was screwed, the FBI did not appreciate being messed about, he'd lose his job. However, that wasn't the only thing he'd lose, he'd lose Sam. He could tell by her reaction to his return that she still cared, he was messing with her emotions too and that wasn't fair. Deep down he knew it wasn't fair on him, the love had gone out of his marriage a long time ago. Now he no longer loved Maria as his wife but as the mother of his children. Intellectually he knew that he should be pleased that Maria had called an end to the farce, he just didn't know if he could cope with the loss of his daughters.

"Don't try and put this on me, Jack. You say you'll do anything, that you want this family to stay together. You don't Jack because if you did it wouldn't have come to this," Maria told him, her tone slightly angry. She couldn't believe Jack's audacity. How could he claim not to understand?

"I do want that," Jack stated his voice getting louder in anger. "I've done everything I possibly could to keep this working. I even said I'd move here. It's you who didn't want that." Maria stood up, her eyes flashing with anger.

"How dare you! You were the one who had an affair, not me. You were never there and . ."

"Stop it! Stop it!" Hanna yelled, standing in the doorway. "I hate it when you argue." Jack looked at Hanna and suddenly it all became clear to him. He'd thought that he was doing the best for his daughters, he thought that they needed both parents. They did need both parents, just not ones that argued all the time.

"Hanna, sweetheart." Jack stepped forward, he needed to explain. He needed to make her understand. Hanna glared at him and ran away. Jack could hear her running footsteps up the stairs and then the slam of her bedroom door.

"Now look what you did," Maria accused walking towards the door. Jack felt the anger surge inside him, what he did! Jack reached out and grabbed Maria's arm, firmly enough to prevent her from leaving but not hard enough to hurt.

"No I'll go to her," Jack said firmly, moving in front of her and over to the door. Maria opened her mouth to object but decided that it was useless, once Jack had made up his mind about something there was normally no stopping him. Carefully Jack made his way up the stairs, he looked at the four doors off the landing. They were all identical. Jack opened the one closest to him, it was the guest room. He then tried the next door, it opened and Jack could see a crying, tear-stained Kate sitting on her bed. "Kate honey." Jack moved over and sat down next to her. He put his arm around her and a moment later Kate was sitting on his lap crying on his shoulder. Jack wasn't sure how long he sat there holding Kate for, murmuring reassurances but after a while he heard a door open on the landing and Hanna came into the room. She too had been crying as her face was tear-stained. However, she was still wearing a defiant, angry expression. "Hanna . . ."Jack began, he didn't know what to say but he had to say something.

"You had an affair." Hanna cut him off now looking at him in disgust, "You know, mom's right about you. You really are a bastard. I hate you!" Before Jack could work out a reply Hanna stormed out of the room again leaving him speechless. Kate squirmed on his lap until she could look up at him. Jack glanced down at his youngest daughter, before pulling her closer to him. As he heard her earnest words, a breath caught in his throat. She laid her head back on his chest.

"I don't hate you, dad," she whispered softly.

**A/N: **I just want to thank Cynically Optimistic for being a source of inspiration for this Maria part, it was hell to write. I also want to thank her for betaing and helping me rejig the last sentance so that it worked better. Half this chapter is down to her help. Cheers. Anyway hope you enjoyed, only one more chapter left of this one.


	10. Chapter 10

_E 153RD Street The Bronx_

Danny motioned to the other FBI officer with him to cut the lock with the bolt cutters. The officer cut them and pulled the lock off the door. Danny pushed upon the door, gun in one hand, flashlight in the other. Suddenly the flashlights keen beam picked up a bound and gagged figure in the corner, squinting slightly as the harsh glare settled on them. Out of compassion Danny moved the flashlight away from them slightly as he ran over to untie Alec Parker. He had a nasty head wound that had clearly been bleeding for a long time. There was a mass of barely congealed blood around the wound, soaking down into the gag. Alec was suffering from acute blood loss which had brought on anaemia. He was also bleeding, Danny noted, from what looked like a stab wound to the abdomen. He was one lucky guy not to be dead.

_Later Park Wood Hospital_

Brooke ran into the hospital room where Alec was. He was groggy but that didn't prevent him from smiling when he saw her, or attempting to hug her back. Alice came in shyly after Brooke, holding Mrs Portman's hand. As soon as she saw her dad she ran forward with a big grin stretched across her face, all misery forgotten. Vivian smiled as she watched from the corner. She knew she should be at home, with her own family. This had been her first case though, her first case where the buck had stopped with her. She now understood completely why Jack got so involved; you bathed in the successes and wallowed in the failures. Families were made or broken by the outcome and when you were in charge, it was your responsibility. Vivian wasn't sure at that moment whether she could deal with that, particularly considering what had happened earlier. She'd talk to Jack about it when he got back to New York.

_FBI Headquarters_

Martin took down the picture of Alec Parker from the whiteboard. This was the first time today he hadn't been busy, the first time he'd been able to think about what had happened earlier with Sam.

_Flashback Earlier Conversation_

"About last night I . . it was . . what I'm trying to say is. . ." Sam tried, Martin could see her discomfort and immediately wanted to ease it.

"It's ok," Martin interrupted, "I understand." Sam looked at him, Martin looked back taking care to keep his face emotionless, he didn't want to make this any more difficult for her than it was already.

"Friends," Sam offered, Martin gulped and forced a smile and nodded.

"Friends."

_End Flashback Earlier Conversation_

Why had he let it end so easily? Why hadn't he fought for her? Because he knew it wouldn't last, that you couldn't have a relationship based on the feelings of one person, that it had to take two. Or was it because he'd observed something, something he hated to have seen but respected none the less. Jack was back now, for good and as a free agent. The wealth of emotions he saw that his return brought in Sam he knew could only mean one thing, true love. The one thing he couldn't tamper with because as much as he said he didn't believe in love, he knew he was in denial and that it did actually exist. He'd seen real, unconditional love once, it had been that day at the bookstore when the drop had gone bad and Sam had got shot. It took love to trade yourself for somebody else, love to risk your life in order to save theirs. He couldn't get in the way of that love, not even if he too admitted to himself that he was in love. That was because in order for true love to exist for him and Sam, she would need to love him back and as long as Jack was around that was going to happen. Until the day he knew for sure that there wasn't a future for him and Sam he would live in hope. Just then Sam walked back into the unit, she'd been with Vivian at the hospital for a while after she'd dropped Brooke off there, basking in the success they'd had.

"See you tomorrow yeah," Sam smiled as she picked up a few things from her desk. Just hearing her voice made feelings stir within him, pushing them aside he fixed a smile on his face. As he watched her leave, his shoulders slumped in resignation. Despite the torment it created, as she walked away, his eyes were unable to leave her. He nodded slowly after her.  
"Tomorrow."

A/N: This episode/casefile is now finished. There is going to be another instalment, I'm working on it right now. You can probably expect it to start trickling in, in a couple of weeks. No promises though, I do have a life outside fanfiction however hard that may be to believe. Anyways hope you enjoyed! Thanks again to cynically optimistic for helping me, this time with the Martin/Sam last scene.

ETA: This did have music lyrics in, like it does on the show, but I removed them because it asked all writers to remove lyrics they hadn't written to avoid account closure. I want to keep my account.


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